Summary: Allen doesn't like hearing the story of how him and Lavi became best friends - Why? Because there are very important details missing from Lavi's version of their story!
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"Oh crap! Where'd it go?" A flash of red bounced around the room, checking through every nook and cranny that exist in his bedroom but no luck; by dinnertime all the eighth grader had really found was: his old eye-patch that he was sure wasn't grey when he last saw it, an unopened bag of chips, a couple unopened cans of mountain dew, a mount of candy wrappers and finally a crinkled photograph.
The child could barely believe it; how could he lose it when it was getting to the good part? Gramps was sure to never buy another of those books again! It was a first-edition copy! Water seeped through the corner of his sole green eye as he imagined numerous punishments the old man was likely to inflict upon him for losing such a rare book.
"Oi, there's someone here to see you" The voice of his gramps sent shivers down his spine but on the bright side, he couldn't be punished if someone else was here to witness it. And keep the redhead safe.
Not wasting any time, Lavi flew down the steps two at a time before jumping down the remaining three to land in front of a white-haired boy; the boy looked familiar. Sort of. Actually not really. The redhead deemed it was probably safer to pretend he did know the kid: "Hey," He greeted the boy, who seemed surprised by his overly-friendly tone and before he could speak, Lavi grabbed his wrist and pulled him up the steps.
Shutting his door with a sigh of relief, the redhead finally asked: "So who are you?"
His question made the other tense as if mentally stabbed by it; white hair shook with a shake of the head before its owner spoke quietly: "I'm Allen..."
"And what brings you here, Allen?"
Silence fell before Allen shifted as he held out something towards the redhead; it was the missing book. Lavi's book! Grabbing it quickly from pale hands, he almost missed the soft words that followed: "I-I f-found it... on the floor... i-in the li-library,"
Without any further thought, Lavi lunged at the other and succeeded in hugging the now-flustered child; repeated chants of 'thank you' filled the quietness between them. It was this simple act that began their friendship.
Eight Years Later...
Allen let out a hollow chuckle as he listened to the story of how him and Lavi became friends; the redhead was explaining the story to a small group of girls that had been fawning over the young adult since they started at Rose University. As he listened, the white-haired adult couldn't help but mentally correct the redhead as he went on with the story...
"...and then Allen, who didn't even know me, just shows up on my doorstep..."
Because I asked the school for your address
"...hands me the book I had been freaking out about losing..."
Because I snatched it away while you were looking
"...See don't you ladies want a sweet guy like that in your lives?"
Yeah... if I only I wasn't in love with you...
It was true. In eighth grade, a young Allen Walker thought up a strange scheme involving stealing his crush, Lavi's favorite book when the redhead went to the bathroom. When he returned and saw his book wasn't on the table, the white-haired child had been lucky that the redhead chalked it up to forgetting he put it in his bag before leaving the library. Now the only part left of his scheme was to show up pretending he 'found the book' and hopefully the redhead would notice him and they could be friends. Or more.
One girl weaved her way closer to Allen, who remained unfazed for a moment before realizing what had just gone down; giving his gentlest smile, he apologized: "I'm sorry to say but I'm not anything like the story makes me sound,"
"Aww~ That can't be true~" The slightly intoxicated girl giggled as she pressed her chest into his arm, which only seemed to irritate Allen and receive an unreadable glance from the other male.
Silver eyes perked when they glanced over and caught green staring back; after a short staring contest, which went unnoticed by the drunk girls, both adults turned to look in a different direction. Feeling like they weren't going to get anywhere, their drunk classmates left them - Allen was the first to notice, mentally noting that they should have known considering they failed to really get his attention when sober.
"Hey Allen," turning to face his best friend and crush, Allen was surprised to see a longing look swirling in green: "I've been wondering something..." It was weird but the look in Lavi's eye made his chest feel tight. Smiling to mask the odd feeling, Allen pursued on: "Wondering what?"
Hesitating as if to find the right words, the redhead was silent before muttering: "Why do you always have that look when I tell people that story?"
"What look?" Feigning innocence was his specialty; it was how he was able to get Lavi's address when they were young and it was how he twarted any rumors of him having feelings for the redhead - although the last one being 10000% true!
Pointing a slightly accusing finger, "The one that says there's more to that story..."
Sighing, "Not sure what you're talking about,"
Raising his voice, "Allen," but upon gathering unnecessary attention, he grabbed the pale wrist and led him away from prying eyes; when they were far enough away, Lavi continued off: "Every time I tell that story, a few things don't add up..."
"Li-Like wh-what?" Allen could feel like his childish scheme was all eight years ago would finally have light shone on it and he was afraid. Afraid that it would destroy the friendship that had blossomed between them. Ruin the bridges that the white-haired adult had built with the other.
"How did you know me anyways? I mean, before that day - I don't recall ever passing you in the halls..."
Fidgeting under the watchful, Allen bit his bottom lip before giving in to his honest side: "Because I had a huge crush on you," He exhaled with a sigh before adding as blood rushed to his face in embarrassment, "Hell, I pouted like a kicked puppy just to get your address from the office so I could give your book back..."
Before Lavi could speak again, his best friend ran a shaky hand through his own hair as he added: "And I might have been the reason the book went missing in the first place," sighing in defeat, "I'm sorry... I was so desperate back then to be noticed by you that I did something stupid and look," gesturing to the space between them, "we became friends because I stole something of yours..."
The thick silence that followed tightened the space inside Allen's chest, even the redhead's grasp on his wrist had slackened; Lavi turned to face him, still holding onto his wrist, and with a suggestion that sounded too simple too be true: "Then why don't we just start over? I'm Lavi Bookman... I'm a senior at Rose University and I'm getting my degree in teaching so that I can be a high school history teacher,"
"A-Ah... Allen Walker, also a senior at Rose University... and I'm currently getting my degree in teaching so that I can be an English teacher for high school students," Unsure of where this was going, Allen decided playing along would be best for the time being.
Grinning, "Now we've started over... so then," his features growing more mature with each passing word, "let me confide in you something I haven't told many... Only two, maybe three people know this," cocking his head to the side, "A years ago, I fell hard for someone who had shown up out of nowhere..."
The tightness in Allen's chest grew and it was starting to hurt to breath but Lady Luck forced his feet to stay as more of his best friend's words came out: "Now this person has no idea how I feel about them... But due to recent events, I'm starting to think I have a chance... Do you think I should confess?" Something reflecting back in that sole green eye forced Allen to swallow the painful feeling in his body away from his throat so he could respond without giving away how heartbroken he was.
A poker-face smile, "You should,"; he could feel it breaking apart quickly as negative emotions filled his senses but his brain seemed to go completely blank when something pressed against his mouth. Something that made the pressure in his chest much tighter than before but at the same time, felt liberating.
Air smelling of exotic fruit washed over him as its owner chuckled breathlessly, "Is it okay for me to assume the feeling is mutual?"
"Mhm," Pulling the redhead back in for another kiss; a smile played both of their lips this time as one thought passed through their minds: 'if you want someone to notice you... commit a secret criminal act towards them'
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Csilla: So what did you think~? I got this idea from Tumblr :D